


Live Fast, Love Hard

by CatChan



Series: Take Their Breath Away [4]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Iron Man - All Media Types, Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Angry Sex, Awesome Jarvis, BAMF JARVIS, College, Competition, Hurt, Kink Plays, Lots of Sex, Mom!Jarvis, Multi, Non-Consensual Barebacking, School, Some of it not legal, unhealthy relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-15
Updated: 2014-09-25
Packaged: 2018-02-17 12:09:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2309159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatChan/pseuds/CatChan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There was this boy in her school... Tony didn't even know he existed.</p><p> </p><p>
  <i>Or, the story where Tony makes a rival, falls in love, breaks up, makes a ton of bad decisions, plays dangerous games and eventually sleeps with her rival. (But she comes to her senses later on!)</i>
</p><p>Warning for underage sex (all consensual, non-graphic, but some of it illegal anyway-especially in Massachusetts-) and after the underage, for some not really consensual sex (I don't think can be called a rape, though)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Back When It Was So Pure (Well...Almost?)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [teaberryblue](https://archiveofourown.org/users/teaberryblue/gifts), [rainproof](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainproof/gifts).



> **Trigger Warning for supportive character's death** I mean not just Howard and Maria's (because, duh). I didn't tag Major Character Death because the one dying is not Major in the Fandoms, but it is a pretty important character at that point (but no one dies before chapter 3!)
> 
>  **Trigger Warning for non-consensual barebacking, as well as intended rape** rape gets foiled because no-one fucks with Tony.
> 
>  
> 
> So, for those of you who didn't come for the pairing, Tiberius Stone and Tony Stark is almost a canon relationship, check him out [here](http://stalkerbunny.livejournal.com/204542.html) and the second part [here](http://stalkerbunny.livejournal.com/205099.html) if you want to know how it all goes down in comics.
> 
> Also, Nancy Lu is an actual legit Marvel character, albeit supportive one, and from the Spider-Girl comic, Doesn't know much about her, and I'm totally out of character with her, but I'll keep some things the same.
> 
> And, teaberryblue, rainproof, congratulation for finishing [1796 Broadway](http://archiveofourown.org/works/972937)!

After she first got into the boarding school, at six, Tony didn't really pay attention to anyone. The teachers were barely spared by her massive lack of interest. It had been long since school taught her anything she didn't know and cared to learn, and in the cases where it had, she'd shot ahead of her classmates and teachers in a flash.

 

Simply put, she really didn't notice Tiberius Stone in any way.

 

* * *

 

Then, she understood the Belmaison school had fast-track courses and dived in these headlong, eager to get to a level where she'd finally _learn_ new things.

 

She didn't even see the boy she passed by in her search for new knowledge, she didn't see how he worked himself half to death to catch up to her.

 

* * *

 

At one point, Jarvis told her she was worrying him, he told her she had to sleep at nights, that her curiosity was healthy, but there was no rush.

Tony always listened to Jarvis' advice far more than she would for anyone else, so she conceded to the sleep at night part. Forcing her head to stop buzzing with concepts long enough to fall asleep was always a challenge, but Jarvis so rarely asked things from her...

 

Her class-hopping pace slowed down, the blond boy's too, she still didn't notice him, or his growing resentment toward her results.

 

* * *

 

In a year, she had caught up with the junior-high level. She could talk with her classmates without feeling like addressing a goldfish, the daily lectures were dull and she literally flew over the subjects. She had aced every test. Jarvis would make her a cake each time.

She felt comfortable there. She stopped skipping grades. It made Jarvis happy. He said that she should enjoy the freedom of school life. She only understood partially, after all, all the rules were starting to drive her up the wall.

With a lot of free time in the lectures, Tony started to see all the ways she could walk around the rules.

 

She also finally noticed the only kid near her own age in the level. He had most of his lectures with her.

But it was a _boy_ and he was around eight, boys that age were stupid. She chose to ignore him.

 

* * *

 

She was eight when she finally noticed how Tiberius was always somehow trying to rile her up. She saw how he was always aceing the tests, along her or just a spot behind. She noted how he was always goading in sports when he got a better score than her, she saw how he was fuming when she didn't notice his subtle insults.

She understood that he hated her. It was the first time someone other than Jarvis ever felt strongly about her.

 

* * *

 

She did everything she could to feed his resentment.

Actually making sure she got perfect scores instead of laying back, making fun of him, calling him Titi or chick, or canary, or birdie, tripping him when he walked near her, sneering at him when she got better grades than him...

She didn't tell Jarvis about any of this. He wouldn't approve.

 

* * *

 

When her last year came close, Tony actually started studying seriously. She was done with the year's program in October, finished making sure she'd be the country's best graduate by December. Then, she started making college plans with Jarvis, and got to lobbying her way to the Prom Queen tittle.

 

She watched Tiberius struggle through the same things.

 

* * *

 

She was first at the national exam, and at fourteen, she was also the youngest of the state. Not a surprise.

She also was named Prom Queen, she was pretty unsurprised by that too.

 

Tiberius got crowned King, she was kind of expecting it. She didn't know if it relieved or irritated her.

 

* * *

 

She used the privilege of her title to ask a dance out of him. The whole room gaped at them. It was incredibly fun.

They were both from rich families, and were taught how to dance from a young age, though Tony never had much interest in it, so she doesn't excel in the variations. She let Tiberius lead, and feelt his resentment melt a bit from just having her in his arms.

Then, he called her Antoinette, and she kneed him in the groin.

She crouched besides his crumpled form. “It. Is. Tony.” And whirled around to exit the room.

 

* * *

 

After the Prom Ball, she packed her dorm room, Jarvis came to pick her up and loaded her luggages in his car.

She then helped him pack his own house, there was a lot more to do.

They called a moving company, piled both of their things in the truck, and took the car while the movers took care of the rest.

The day was bright and colored in Tony's memories. Jarvis driving them both, the radio singing the latest hits, and the both of them chatting and laughing as the scenery went by.

 

She wasn't thinking of Tiberius anymore. It was a page she'd turned, along with the boarding school.

 

* * *

 


	2. Dirty Player(s)

At first, she didn't really pay attention to the boy sitting on her right at the MIT's opening ceremony. But then, he turned her way, catching her eye, and extended a hand. “Hey, I am Tiberius Stone, my friends call me Ty.”

She stared at him for a couple of seconds, unsettled by the jovial introduction. She glanced at his hand suspiciously, but there was nothing in it, so she took it. “Tony Stark.”

What was left of the ceremony passed in awkward silence. Tony kept turning his words in her head. 'My friends call me Ty'... Did he want to be her friend? After everything?

When they were dismissed, she got up and shot him a smile “See you another time, maybe... Ty.”

He smiled, Tony decided it was ok to call him that. “Sure, Tony.”

 

It felt like a peace offering. She smiled at him before going to talk with her teachers for the adjustments she wanted to take.

 

* * *

 

Ty wasn't taking the same courses as her, he was in media studies and management, as the Viastone's heir ought to be.

Tony was in engineering and science.

They still both sat through informatics, but not together, as Tony was going full steam, not laid back like in school, she sped way ahead of his level in a matter of months.

He didn't fight teeth and nails to catch up to her, and she concluded that their antagonistic episode had finished with graduation.

 

It gave her a soft fluffy feeling she would never have thought she'd associate with him.

 

* * *

 

She didn't notice at first. She later realized it was kind of a constant in her relationship with Ty. She didn't know what to make of it. But the fifth time she saw one of her one-night-stands hang at Ty's arm, she started to suspect something.

 

She dismissed it, after all, tall, blonde, curvy, and easy to charm could as well be his type too.

 

* * *

 

Her next girlfriend was tall, curvy, and easily charmed too, but she was brown haired.

 

She (Alina? No, there was a “v”, Vanessa, then, or Valeria?) stopped seeing, or calling, Tony a week in. Tony was not surprised to see her necking with Ty on the next day.

 

* * *

 

She took a whole week to decipher her feelings at this. Vanessa (Valentine?) was not really important to Tony, and she didn't think anything of her deflection, but she didn't know what she thought of Ty hitting on her girlfriend.

She finally decided one test outside her type was not enough data to get a conclusive analysis.

 

* * *

 

Instead of a slight change, she went the whole way. Her next girlfriend was short, a bit chubby, of the 'smart but not overly social' type. She was of Asian descent, and had straight, silky black hair. She was in the basketball team and reasonably good at it, too.

Unsurprisingly, she had also been way harder to charm over. Tony found herself getting really invested in her. She even remembered her name (Nancy Lu).

Tony liked to talk with her, she had the most interesting view on mental energy and psychic powers. She liked to argue with her, for hours on end sometimes. It was actually how she'd finally gotten her first date, she'd been discussing mutant power's theories with Nancy, forgetting time, until she realised none of them had eaten, they were well into the night and the Mess was closed, so she had invited her out to a restaurant.

 

It had sailed smoothly from there, and Tony had forgotten all of Ty and his girlfriend-snatching habit by the second week of courting her.

 

* * *

 

More time passed, Tony was just fifteen and half, and she understood that even with her eighteen years, Nancy didn't feel comfortable about sex with Tony.

She was thinking she'd have to suffer unreturned crushes until she hit sixteen herself. She always ended up sleeping with people her age she found stupid, or older people without a conscience that she couldn't stand to talk to longer than necessary to get past the one-liners and into bed.

Guess intelligent people knew better than to sleep with jailbait.

 

* * *

 

She was determined to hold onto Nancy, though, what was half a year?

Even without sex, dating her was fun and made her happy, so she let the subject lie.

She even told Jarvis about her new girlfriend.

 

* * *

 

She had forgotten that Ty was ten months older than her.

She had forgotten about Ty.

 

In fact, it hadn't even occurred to her that Nancy might cheat on her.

 

* * *

 

She was carrying a Pizza, smile on her face, thinking of Nancy's surprise when she would see that Tony had, for once, left her studies and came to see her without a plan.

After a month of relationship, she had the key to Nancy's apartment, so there was no need to ring the bell. She let her self in. “Nancy? It's me, I brought-”

“Shit.” That... Was not the reaction she was expecting. Maybe Nancy had dropped something?

“Pizz-” Tony stopped mid-word when peeked around the bedroom door. She almost dropped the box. There was no plausible deniablity anymore, no lie she could tell herself that would make her unsee her naked girlfriend on the bed under an equally naked dude.

 

A naked dude that was blonde, and mildly built, and who had Ty's face.

“Tony! It's not-” Tony didn't stay to hear Nancy's excuse. She slammed the door shut, tossed the Pizza on a counter, an left the apartment.

 

* * *

 

She didn't cry until she was safely out of the taxi she'd hailed and into Jarvis' kitchen.

Jarvis gave her an ice-cream pint, a spoon, and tugged her in the sofa, where she ended-up crying herself to sleep, curled up with her head on his lap and the gentle brush of his fingers in her hair lulling her and somehow keeping the headache from her crying at bay.

 

* * *

 

She woke up in Jarvis' guest bedroom, there was a glass, a pitcher of water and an Advil on the bedside table, and the air smelled of pancakes, beacon, and her favorite cake.

If Jarvis hadn't been her almost dad, she'd be proposing just about now.

She gulped down the Advil and most of the water, hoping her ears would stop pulsing soon, then dressed up in the clothes Jarvis kept for her, and went down the stairs into the kitchen.

Jarvis gave her a pair of cold spoons that she pressed on her eyes, and dished her a big plate of breakfast, then he served himself and sat beside her without a word. He didn't ask her what happened, didn't say any of the stupid stuff people said when they saw someone cry, he just sat there, his shoulder solid and warm against her own.

She found herself leaning into him “She cheated on me.” It was a simple whisper, but Jarvis turned a bit and wound his arms around her shoulders. “What do I do, mom?” The silly little nickname came out strong and true. Jarvis hugged her a little tighter.

“I can't decide for you, girl. It's your life, you give it it's direction.”

She'll admit she was sniffling a bit... “But it's so hard!”

“Life is hard, baby, but I assume it means you already know what to do.”

“I really love her, do I _have_ to split up?” At this point, she was practically curled up on his lap. It was nice, safe.

“You don't _have_ to do anything, Milady, you are the only one who has a right to give you orders. Do you feel like you'll be able to trust her again? Will you be happier still having her but worrying she'll cheat on you? Are you ready to forgive, forget? I can't answer those questions for you, only you can do that.”

“I. I... No. No I can't. Ty is special, so she probably isn't so prone to cheating normally, but... What if he does it again?”

Jarvis frowned.“Ty? Tiberius Stone? Wasn't he your friend.”

She scrunched her nose. “I... Don't know. Not anymore, anyway... It's not the first time he does it. I... I just didn't care for the others.” Jarvis squeezed a bit again. “Aren't I horrible? Dating, sleeping with people I don't care about.”

Jarvis made a long pause, and she was afraid he's say 'yes'. “You really care about Nancy, though, or you wouldn't be here now.” A sob tore out of her chest. “No one has the right to blame you for who you love or don't love, or for who you sleep with, Milady, as long as you don't hurt them or lie to them, or do something illegal, you are your only judge.”

“How do I know if I'm doing something bad, then?”

“If you feel bad about it, then it's probably at bad thing. And if people are getting hurt because of you, or if people you like tell you it's bad, then it's better to rethink it. But it doesn't necessarily means you're wrong either, right or wrong is a complicated matter. I'm pretty sure you'll do alright, though, you're smart and you're nice.”

“Thanks...” Her voice was so weak and tentative she even evoked herself a squeaking mouse. “I still love her.”

“You can still be friends, even if you're not confident enough to keep her as your girlfriend. It might take time to accept, though.” 

She finally pushed herself free. Jarvis gave her a box of tissues and took her plate to the microwave to re-heat it.

Jarvis was very definitively the best Mom in the world.

 

* * *

 

She spent the whole morning lounging in Jarvis' sofa, his quiet, supportive presence and short but wise advices soothing her.

After Jarvis had her stay for lunch and she helped his for his groceries shopping, she went back home, not wanting to impose too much on him.

 

* * *

 

Nancy was waiting at her doorstep. “Tony! You weren't answering the phone and there was no answer to the door! I was worried!”

Tony looked at her, chest tightening. Yes, she did love her. That was the reason she loved her. She wondered if she should say so. It would be cruel, especially since she'd made her mind to break up. She walked over, unlocked the door and gestured Nancy in, not talking. She did not know what to say.

The love and betrayal were crashing in her, each hurting equally. She went to pull orange juice out of the fridge and served two glasses, then added ice-cubes.

Nancy started to speak when she turned around. “I'm so-” Tony looked up at her. She knew she was probably projecting all her feelings on her face. She knew her eyes had to be red, still. Nancy cut off abruptly, hands catching her glass an face downcast. “I-thins was stupid.”

Tony bit her bottom lip. “You are not stupid, Nancy.”

“Doesn't mean I can't do stupid stuff...” Her breathing was uneven, and Tony definitely heard a sniff. “We are over, aren't we?”

“We are.”

“Will you ever forgive me?”

And wasn't that a kick in the teeth? Nancy loved her, Tony loved Nancy, yet here they were breaking up... “You are my first love, Nancy, I don't know if I'll ever be able to be really angry with you.”

Nancy looked up, and there were two wet tracks on her cheeks. “First? But? All the others?”

“I couldn't tell you the name of any of them. Well, except Bob, but I wouldn't recognize him if I passed him in the street. And yet, here I am, calling you by your name, and not 'baby', 'honey' or 'sweetheart'. I love you, but we'll only hurt each-other if we stay together.” She turned around, refusing to cry before her.

“Yes... Can we be friends?”

“... Maybe. Not now, though. I... I need some time.”

“Sure” It was almost a whisper, it crushed Tony's heart. “We'll see each other around, then, I guess.”

Tony freed the keys to Nancy's apartment from her pocket and put it in Nancy's hand as she went out. “If you ever need help, call me, I'll come.”

Nancy nodded, back turned to Tony. “Yeah.” She went out, and Tony collapsed on the floor in a heap. She wondered if she should go back to Jarvis' to cry again, but decided to go and take a nap instead.

 

* * *

 

She didn't forget Ty's betrayal.

 

* * *

 

She finally found the perfect retaliation, in a form he couldn't refuse to rise for.

She surveyed the members of his influence circle and locked down on the manliest one.

She waited until the whole gang went out to a club, barged in, danced shamelessly with the guy (all hips moves and leg rutting), kissed him dirty and open-mouthed, eyes locked on Ty's at the bar while the guy's tongue went down her throat and his hands slipped under her skirt and on her ass.

He was all frozen up. How cute!

She got her new boyfriend to pay her a couple drinks and let herself be brought to his home.

_Who's playing, now?_

 

She even winked at Ty on their way out.

What do you know? The sex was even pretty good. Even more so knowing she'd just threw Ty for a loop.

 

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you are curious about the whole "Mom" business, or about Bob, it's all in [Smells Like Teen Spirit](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2299853), the previous installment in this series.


	3. Let's Play A Game

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so the plot shifted while I wasn't paying attention.
> 
>  
> 
> **What you have to know before reading:**
> 
>  
> 
> -I upped the rating to E, for, reasons.  
> - **there's a new Trigger Warning of the sexual field** not rape, I'm putting the specifics in the end note, so those who don't want to get spoiled still have the surprise, and the ones that may be triggered can check.

It took Ty three weeks and generous quantities of public necking, kissing and groping right in his face to own up to the challenge.

Tony would have given her right arm to know how he pulled it off, but her new ex wouldn't even look at her.

Ty had that cocky grin, but he was not walking as smoothly, and was either staying up or sitting exclusively on his tights for a whole morning, so she counted it her win.

His eyes searched hers, smirk on his face, she answered with her own, and plopped herself down on another one of his “friend”'s lap.

Ty's widening eyes were pure gold.

 

* * *

 

After that... Tony would call it a wild goose chase.

She would pick someone out, fuck them, wait for Ty to step in and steal them, then switch to another person. Gender didn't really matter, but she liked to lean toward male, just for the subtle limp in Ty's stride on mornings.

It did conjure delicious images in her mind's eye.

 

* * *

 

She was Tony Stark, she soon became bored with the waiting game.

She changed the rules.

She would pick someone, have sex with them, then shoo them out and pick someone else on the next day.

She took to pacing in the campus' courtyard with a cup of coffee in one hand, the other on her mouth and eyes in the distance. When she inevitably knocked into someone, she'd make a little squeaky noise, tip her head up, wide eyed, and apologize, then invite her victim for dinner as an apology.

It worked every times.

 

* * *

 

The game became a race. She powered through the sexual encounters and left Ty to find, seduce and fuck them.

While Ty couldn't actually take the head from her, what with her being the goal, she liked to be two or three moves ahead of him. Less, felt like he was gaining too much, more felt like she was losing him.

 

* * *

 

She had forgotten all about revenge.

 

* * *

 

The campus, then the world soon started to gossip about her and Ty's antics. She didn't give a fuck.

It made her Mother hysteric. She couldn't care less.

Her father disapproved. It made her smile.

Jarvis didn't talk about it, but would comment of her fire temper with a faint smile. It made her happy.

He would also tell her to be careful, protect herself. She would acquiesce seriously. She wouldn't worry him without a very good reason.

 

Apparently, Ty didn't have to deal with the parental barrage of disapproval, even over his now frequent same-sex encounters.

 

* * *

 

Knocking into two guys at once may have been the tipping point.

Or it could have been the teacher.  
He got expelled afterward. But not before Ty had a go at him too. Tony didn't feel guilty, she was an expert at not being refused, but still didn't force anyone. Plus her coffee tactic was an open secret at this point, it was pretty likely he had done it on purpose. She actually got a few smiles and short nods from some girls in the corridors for a pair of week after his departure.

Anyway, once she'd gone over the “yuck, really?” and the “wow, so I can really pull this off this easily” barriers, the game didn't seem to have any limits anymore.

 

* * *

 

It escalated.

Threesomes became foursomes, passing experience with an authority figure turned into kink plays.

The foursome part pretty predictably escalated into an orgy during her sixteenth birthday party (the public one, after 11PM; not the cake, candles and gift one for lunch with Jarvis).

As for the kink play... Yeah, she went up with this too.

There was one “master” who even sent her pictures of Ty three days after she slept with him. She had spent hours starring at those. All of them. Ty looked... Mighty fine it revealing leather getup. And fuck if the picture of him giving the “master” a blow-job (taken from above, probably by the receiver of said blow-job), or the one with a dick up his ass, hands and ankles held in place by cuffs, didn't make her insides burn up with lust.

It didn't help that she'd been in each of the positions she saw Ty assume in the pictures. She wondered if Ty had his own set of pictures, of her. She couldn't remember “master” using a camera, but then again, she had been pretty absorbed. And blindfolded for a good part of the proceedings.

The idea of Ty having similar pictures and getting off of them made a fire light up in her stomach.

Actually it was pretty much the same with the idea of Ty getting fucked by multiple people...

 

Maybe she should just sleep with him.

 

* * *

 

The whole game came to a screeching stop three months after her birthday party.

Even after promising Jarvis times and times again that she'd be careful, that she was protecting herself and intended to keep doing it, she got herself into a situation where she was unable to apply her promises.

There was a thing about being handcuffed and blindfolded while having sex with someone. She had nailed descent partners so far, so she hadn't thought about it, but she'd had to trust the guy to put a condom on on his own, or to keep it on after she became unable to check for herself...

She didn't notice anything amiss until after they both came and she felt something thicker than her own slick slide down her tights. As it was, she almost didn't recognize the feeling, she'd only gone unprotected once before, after all. But she was a genius, had incredible memory, and linked the facts.

“Fuck! Why didn't you put a condom on? We agreed that you had to use one!”

She heard a chuckle, and felt a hand swipe between her legs. It made her skin crawl, killing instantly and effectively any lingering mood she might have been in. “Don't like them. It doesn't feel as good with one.” _What the fucking fuck?_

“And you broke your agreement just for that? Get your dirty hands off me! Untie me! What if I get pregnant, you ass? Are you even clean?”

The asshole did get his hands off, but didn't untie her. “If you get pregnant, I guess you'll have to marry me. Worse things have happened to me than marrying a billionaire and getting free reign of her heirloom. You could be prettier, though. You'd have grow out your hair for me.”

Tony was _so_ done with him. The hair comment had rage bloom fierce and hot in her. No one would ever tell her how she should look. She bent down, getting the clasp of her blindfold in reaching range of her cuffed hands. It put her raised ass on display, and she knew it was pleasing the asshole.

He was blabbing on on how she'd be a good little whore slave wife once he'd slept with her enough times... It made her sick of the fact she'd willingly slept with this shit.

She focused on picking the handcuff lock with the buckle tongue of the blindfold. She'd learned lock mechanisms and picking at four, she could have worked the simplistic cuff lock open in her sleep.

She turned around, seeing the pig stroking himself to his fantasies, visibly intending to go at it again even after Tony had told him not to touch her. If he though raping Tony Stark would be that easy, he was totally deserving what he had coming.

He was still hopped up on endorphins, while she was on the high of adrenalin, he didn't stand a chance, even with her ankles still bound together. She socked him in the jaw, then cuffed him to a chair and dialed Jarvis, hands shaking. Whether it was from the adrenalin or the fear and disgust, she didn't know.

 

* * *

 

Jarvis was, once again, competent and quick and non-judgmental.

He draped his vest over Tony, listened while she explained what had happened (not in too much details,though, because weird), kicked the fucking rapist in the nuts, and whisked her away.

Just like the first time he'd picked her after she'd gone unprotected, he brought her to a laboratory for analysis (that one was harder, she didn't really want anyone to touch her _there_ , but she wanted to be sick even less, so she let the doctor collect her samples), then to a drugstore, where he left her in the car for a pair of minutes. He came back with a box. Explained her on the way home that it would block ovulation if it hadn't already happened and dropped the chances of pregnancy.

She took the pill.

 

* * *

 

She spent a week in Jarvis' house. At a point, Jarvis excused himself, and she thought he finally had it with her.

However, he came back with a wide smile, saying he'd taken care of the problem, courtesy of her father's help.

She didn't understand.

Until Jarvis put an open newspaper in front of her, two days later. It said an innocent man had been caught in a crossfire between two drugs cartel and died of his injuries.

“Why are you? ... Wait... It's?”

Jarvis smiled. All wide and sweet, but with fire in his eyes. “He won't bother you ever again.”

Tony stared at him. “How much does it cost to organize a 'crossfire between drug cartels accident'?”

Jarvis' face was hard as he answered. “Nothing I wouldn't have paid myself if your Father hadn't agreed to pick up the bill.”

Tony frowned. “Isn't that... Bad? Doing that type of thing.”

Jarvis pulled her into a hug. “There are very few things, good or bad, that a mom wouldn't do for their child. That said, I would appreciate it if you avoided getting in this sort of situation again.”

 

* * *

 

The analysis came back clear.

Her last fear was cleared fifteen days after the facts when she got her period.

 

* * *

 

Tony decided she'd moped long enough. She got in contact with a Pharmaceutical group and invented a contraception device that you just implanted in the arm, and that was totally foolproof, realizing exact dosage of estrogen regularly for eight years.

She never wanted to have that type of thing happening again. (She also decided she should really stick to girls.)

 

She had, once again, forgotten all about Ty or the game.

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains a case of deliberate unprotected sexual acts, against the wish of Tony, without her noticing it, them intentions of rape that gets stopped because Tony is not one to get raped quietly.
> 
> Also, commissioned accidental death of the asshole, because Jarvis isn't one to let that pass.
> 
> Circumstances of the first unprotected sex and how Jarvis reacted is in [Smells Like Teen Spirit](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2299853)  
> The reason Tony is really pissed at the hair comment is from [She is Tony Stark](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2253996)


	4. I Didn't Foresee This Thing...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ouch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're wondering, the chapter title is from Paint it Black's lyrics...

She took three months to work out all the kinks in her new project. She wanted something mechanical and totally reliable despite the miniaturization. She had to invent lots of systems, and she knew the patents would be used in lots of fields and set the medical science (and others too) a few years forth in their course.

She also made the most of her research, looking the applications of her finds into the robotics field. By the time she had her implant designed and tested, her PHD had taken a leap. She would be done with it in the upcoming year.

Obadiah Stane didn't want to have Stark Industries commercialize her system, it was not their usual field. She decided to implant one of her prototypes in her arm, and gave the Pharmaceutical lab who'd collaborated with her the right to manufacture and sell her invention. She gave them a discount on the patents rights if they made the system accessible to the youngest girls for free. It worked pretty well.

 

* * *

 

When she emerged for light, she was fine again. She went back to college, smiled her way through the glares and sympathetic comments, and fitted herself firmly back in her studies.

On the second day, she caught sight of Ty and almost called out to him. But then, she saw the girl talking to him. She was golden-skinned with short black hair, not very tall, and with few curves.

She looked like Tony.

 

* * *

 

Tony narrowed her eyes at the flirting Ty was obviously doing. She'd definitely been gone for a bit too long.

That night, the look-alike girl fell asleep in Tony's arms with a generous quantity of hickeys adorning her neck and chest.

 

* * *

 

The next morning, Tony scoped out a blond buff girl and made sure to be kissing her somewhere Ty could not miss them.

 

* * *

 

The game took again. Not a chase anymore. A tally was building between them. They both knew who was ahead in what field..

Jockeying the girlfriends could prove a bit tricky, but Tony managed quite easily. As a girl hitting on another girl, the difficulties were not in the same places and she understood exactly how to act to get what she wanted. Plus she didn't betray anyone, she just picked one-night-stands.

 

* * *

 

At one point, she found herself talking to one of these girls. She was actually quite interesting to talk with... Dark hair, she was one she'd poached from Ty. She finally decided the girl was interesting enough to ask her name.

She looked at Tony, surprise showing on he face before she told her her name (Elise).

“Am I that obvious?” Tony didn't know if she should be embarrassed.

Elise smiled. “A bit. I actually never told you my name before, so it's not completely on you...”

“Ehhh... Really?”

Elise chuckled. “You're famous, you know? I knew what I had coming when I smiled back at Stone. I knew none of you really cared about me.” She stretched on her back. “That's what makes it okay. I can sleep with the both of you and go out tomorrow without any guilt and a very good memory.”

“Very good, heh?”

“Meh, you don't think you'd still be bedding half the school if word said you sucked, right?”

Tony pondered her words. “You know, I used to think I'd be hated for my sleeping around. Still don't understand why I'm not...”

“I guess slut-shaming is for those that ruin other's romantic chances... You never fitted in it. Except maybe at the very start? It's very clear what you and Ty are doing, and you don't target taken people, so it's hard to hold a grudge. And you do offer us girls a chance to try out homosexuality with no strings attached. You are almost a symbol.”

Tony felt her face heat up. She buried it in Elise's boobs. “What a symbol! I'm not even that pretty.”

Elise chuckled again, it was a nice chuckle. “You rock the not pretty look, then, always turning heads in your wake. Well, and then there is the fact that Ty's damn good too.”

Tony raised her head. “He is?”

Elise was smiling, wide and warm. “God yes, he is, and handsome!”

“That I know! I must still have those pictures...”

“Pictures?” So Tony showed Elise the pictures of Ty in leather gear. Elise made a gurgling squeaking sound that sounded a bit like the one Tony had made when she first saw them. “Holly fuck! That is _so_ hot!”

“I know, right? Makes me want to bend him in half against a desk and fuck his brains out...”

The next few hours were spent talking about Ty, and about various phantasms.

The details Elise gave her about how Ty was during sex were making her insides clench. She was definitely storing them for later use.

She wondered if Ty had had similar moments, he'd went after her so far, so he must not have lacked opportunities...

They ended up having sex once or twice more, and Tony had Elise promise not to tell a soul about the pictures. After all, it was not her type to dirty people's reputation.

 

* * *

 

The new digital camera system she made that would be used by her robot got called Elise. Tony gave her one of the prototypes. She was overjoyed.

 

* * *

 

The second stretch of the game was way more tame than the first, and involved mostly girls. Tony got a couple other bedmates to share tidbits about Ty in bed.

She was starting to thing this whole game was a bit ridiculous and she should just bed him already and be done with it. Or start a steady fuck-buddy relationship.

 

* * *

 

For her seventeenth birthday, she just had the home party with Jarvis, didn't go and organize a huge ass party with alcohol and sex. She had her favorite cake, watched a movie with Jarvis on the sofa, ate a pint of ice-cream together, and went to sleep in the guest bedroom.

She'd rate this birthday higher than her sixteenth.

 

* * *

 

And then her world crumbled. Without a warning, like lightning in a clear sky.

One moment everything was alright in the world, Jarvis loved her, she was shifting the game with Ty so she'd eventually sleep with him, her studies were going along nicely... The next, she was in an hospital room, staring blankly at the most important person in her life, pale and weak, laying on his back, surrounded by machines, a doctor explaining that the bullet went through his lungs, way too close to his heart, and didn't get out. They couldn't save him.

She held Jarvis' hand as he asked about the people. A police officer she didn't even know was there answered that they were alright, Jarvis had given them the time to flee. He'd sacrificed himself, saved tens of life. Tony couldn't help the voice in her head that said she would have traded them all to keep Jarvis alive.

Jarvis died with a smile, his second to last word had been “Antoinette”, then “I”, and then his eyes had watered, his breath came short one last time, and his whole body had gone lax.

It was the end of her rope. She knew there had been screams, tears and desperate calls, “no”s and “mom”s and “Jarvis” and “stay with me”s . She'd begged and pleaded, to no result.

The hospital staff wrestled her out, and the police drove her home.

 

* * *

 

She wrecked half her apartment, throwing things against the walls, screaming in rage and despair, then she passed out form exhaustion on the ruins of her life.

 

* * *

 

When she came to, she walked to Jarvis' home, ate his whole supply of ice-cream curled up on the sofa, then cried herself to sleep in his bed.

 

* * *

 

It was where the woman found her. Gentle elderly woman that looked a bit like Jarvis and had his accent. She held Tony to her heart, rocking her slowly, whispering soft words to her ear.

When Tony woke up again, the woman had made cookies. They smelled the same as Jarvis'

“Family?” Tony asked as she came to sit at the table. Her voice was rough and broken from the crying.

“Yes, I am Isabel Hall, born Jarvis, Edwin's older sister.” Right, Jarvis was his family name. Tony wondered if he'd have liked her to call him by his given name. Edwin... She wouldn't have the chance to know anymore.

“I'm sorry.” It was what you were supposed to tell family, wasn't it?

“I know you are. Edwin was always talking about you.” She pushed the cookie plate to Tony. “I'm happy to see you at last, even if the situation is far from ideal.”

Tony took a cookie. “I didn't even know about you.” The cookie tasted the same as Jarvis' too, Tony sniffed, and blinked back the sting in her eyelids.

“Doesn't surprise me. Edwin has always been one to put others before himself, he probably thought what you had to tell him was more important than what he could tell you. He liked you like his own child.”

Tony bowed her head. She was crying again. “I called him mom.”

Isabel smiled. “I know. I knew in the hour after you did actually.” Tony looked back up, surprised. “He called me at eight in the morning, which makes an indecent hour in the night here in the US, and asked how he should help you, because you looked like you were in pain, and were periods supposed to hurt, and what should he do, and how did he choose tampons and pads?” Tony remembered that night, but she didn't know Jarvis had phoned his sister for help. “And then after I gave him all my advices and was drinking my morning tea, he called me again, saying that you had just called him mom. He was so proud. I don't think I had heard him brag like that since he entered college.”

Tony was crying, but there was a warm feeling on top of the searing pain. “Really?”

Isabel tapped her finger to her mouth, considering. “Actually, no. I think he did the same when you gave him the right to call you Antoinette. And there was a braid of hair involved, too? It actually was when we started talking again, we had lost contact, but then Edwin got attached to this little girl and he started calling me when he didn't know what to do to help her, since I did have children and everything. And he would complain about his bosses too. Reminded me he was human, even if he always put others before himself and it annoyed me to no end.”

Isabel took Tony in her arms, telling Tony that she was there and she was glad Tony had been there for her brother, made his old years happier by her presence, nodding when Tony sobbed that it was unfair, saying that death was unfair, but dying in a burglary protecting people was how Edwin would have wanted to go, even if he wouldn't have wanted to leave Tony all alone and vulnerable.

She was a bit like Jarvis.

 

* * *

 

Tony stood by Isabel's side at the funeral. Introduced herself as Jarvis' daughter to the persons that had been in the shop, that Jarvis had saved and that came to express their thanks and their condolence. The press didn't link her back to Tony Stark, but she couldn't have cared less if they had.

 

* * *

 

Isabel stayed with Tony after the funerals, then signed her rights over Jarvis' inheritance to Tony, helped her sort everything, and left when her visa expired, telling Tony to do what made her happy, that it was the most important thing in Edwin's life and that he would want her to be happy even after his death.

 

* * *

 

Tony bought Jarvis' apartment, not wanting to move his things. She took his cooking book that had the recipe for her favorite cake marked with the braid of hair she'd given him when she was three, and put it in her backpack.

She hopped on the bike she had made for her father but ultimately given to Jarvis, and drove to New York.

She didn't want to stay in this place where she could almost always see Jarvis, but was still all alone.

Her parents let her in without a question. They knew.

She took over a part of her Dad's lab, and dived into robotics and programing, letting the work dull the pain.

 

She'd forgotten all about Ty again.

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has references to all three prequels:  
> -braid and "Antoinette": [She is Tony Stark](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2253996)  
> -bike: [Combustion Point](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2295419)  
> -period: [Smells Like Teen Spirit](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2299853)


	5. Coping Mechanisms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> one more chapter before I finish. In the end it is becoming less and less of a Tony/Ty history, and more of a Tony's young years story... Well, I guess it's okay...

She put the finishing touches to her helping bot a few months before her eighteenth birthday.

Her Dad pulled a few strings so she could do her presentation right-away.

She received the journalist team in her Father's workshop, alone, once again, her Dad had other things to do, unlike in her childhood, she accepted the fact somewhat numbly, recognizing her powerlessness to change this state of being.

Once she was in front of the reporter, things rolled smoothly, she found an old satisfaction in explaining the inner workings of her robot and the learning AI that drove it. Explaining tech in normal people's speech was an interesting exercise, even if it could get a bit boring. The photographer took a picture of her crouching in front of her baby, and they joked a bit, then Tony saw them out, reminding the reporter to refer to her as Tony Stark, please.

After that, she packed a bag and her different files and climbed into the car, polishing her presentations while the chauffeur drove her to Cambridge. The bot was too big to fit in the car with her, but she knew the schematics by heart, had videos of his interactions, and samples of the compounds she used for innovative pieces, so she was all set.

She presented for all three of her PHDs in one day, knowing she'd have flying colors on each.

They took a picture of her showing off the 'bot schematics on the blackboard for the school magazine, thinking her drawing it all by heart with just a chalk stick was impressive. She smiled, made a pair of statements.

 

* * *

 

She found her feet leading her on their own as soon as she was done.

She shouldn't have been surprised to look around and see Jarvis' kitchen. It was where she always ended-up after a big achievement.

Except this time there was no Jarvis waiting for her with her favorite cake, just an empty apartment with way more dust than Jarvis would ever have allowed to settle in his space.

She cried.

It didn't last as long as her last meltdown, she was recovering from her loss.

 

* * *

 

Her chauffeur was waiting for her in front of her own apartment. It was almost midnight. “I figured you'd be home, boss.”

Tony looked at him critically. He was a fairly young, duff, but not overly self confident, and his face seemed frozen in a frown even if his voice had been warm. “Home isn't just a place.” She climbed in the back seat , thinking of Jarvis' warm smile. Home was a person, and she'd lost hers.

Tears tracked down her face as she whipped her cell-phone out (not great, she could do better, lighter), It didn't hurt as much anymore. She could think of Jarvis' warm smile and delicious pastries with sharp longing instead of stabbing pain.

She called SI's front desk, knowing there would be a team on the standard even at night.

A warm feminine voice greeted her, and Tony would have flirted if not for the competent but welcoming barrage of “who is it, what can I do for you, if you want to talk to someone in particular, please decline their name, rank and department, the after sales services have office hours, aside for military contracts or emergencies.”

Tony smiled, she liked that standardist and her no-nonsense tone, she wondered if she could poach her from her own Father's company... “This is Tony Stark, my phone number must be noted somewhere in the important people's list. I need a good cleaning company booked for an apartment on Cambridge, on my own personal expanses.”

There was a pause, presumably to verify her number. “At the risk of seeming disrespectful, Miss Stark, why should Stark Industries be arranging your personal business?”

Tony blinked. It had been so long since she last got called on her shit. Probably since Jarvis' death. “Because it is typically the thing I wouldn't do myself for many reasons including a total lack of interest in those type of things, and I don't see who else to call I could have the minimum confidence in for something so important to me, especially in the middle of the night, and I'm fairly sure I'll forget if I don't get it settled right now. … Wait... I think there is a form for that, personal work for executive SI members, just fill it under Howard Stark, with an underline saying it's on Tony Stark's behalf and write down the hours it took you, it'll go in his 'advantages in nature' with his salary by the end of the month.”

There was sounds of shuffling papers. “Found it... Why does this even exist? I will make a note to find a cleaning service when they are open. Please tell me the address of the place and your preferences of the type of service.”

Tony declined Jarvis' house address, and stated that she wanted it clean but not reorganized, as it was not lived in anymore but held many good memories. The chauffeur glanced at her in the rear-view mirror, probably because the place was not the one he'd waited for her at, then passed her a packet of tissues without a comment. “Also, give my chauffeur a raise and a vacation.”

The chauffeur jumped a bit, the girl on the phone seemed a bit surprised. “Ah... I will get a trustworthy company and discuss the contract, you will still need to sign it and make an automated payment agreement with your account's bank, unless you want me to take care of this too?”

Tony accepted and gave her the name of the bank and account number.

“Someone should come to you with the forms to sign, I advise you to read them beforehand. Now, about your chauffeur, that is not normally my responsibility and in may be difficult to get more than a promise even if I get you the good person on the line, I advise a written order, but even so, it might get ignored since you are not actually in any rank within the company... Can I have his name?”

“You can't find it?”

“I don't really have access to the Stark Manor staff list, and even if I had, it'd be way more complicated to find which one you are talking about than simply asking them.”

Tony blinked again. She reminded her of Jarvis. “Point.” she trusted her phone to the chauffeur's ear. “Name?”

The chauffeur hesitated a second. “Harold Hogan, Boss.”

She took the phone back. “Here! Well, you know what? If SI doesn't get him the raise in a month, I'll just poach him, it's about time I had staff of my own anyway. I want to steal you over too, by the way, so why don't you bring the contracts yourself, together with your resume?”

“I am afraid I can't do that, Miss Stark.”

Tony's eyes widened. “You are aware I would at least double your salary?”

“And this is exactly why I don't want to accept such an offer without giving proofs of my competence beforehand, my professional pride wouldn't allow it. Expect a visit on Friday. Good night, Miss Stark.”

Tony stared at her phone for a while. “Well, what a firecracker. Hope she doesn't stand me up.”

 

* * *

 

She didn't come.

Tony received a stack of paperwork from the guy who brought contracts to her Father.

There were a few well made notes, brief recaps of the legalities and post-its where her signature as needed.

There was also a contract to employ Harold as her personal chauffeur as well as the paper she'd just have to get him and her Father to sign to get his contract transferred to her, along with a simple guide on employee management so she would know how to take care of the accountable his presence meant for her. And an automatic payment from her bank ready to be filled, along with a few spare sheets so she could give him raises without the hassle to go to her bank.

She stared at everything for a long time, then filled what needed to be filled, stashed Harold's employment form for later, and phoned Obadiah Stane to know the name of the woman who'd helped her and must have given her 'personal job' form back by now.

 

* * *

 

She got her Father to sign the transfer paper after a month because Harold (she needed to have a nickname for him) still hadn't had the raise.

She didn't get her standardist (Virginia) to become her PA, no amount of coaxing made her move on her stance, She even shooed Tony out of the secretarial office after her last attempt to win the young woman over.

 

* * *

 

She had a huge party for her eighteenth birthday. She got called on a trial the next moth because of the underage drinking and drug consumption. She didn't have any kind of defense, the pictures said it all, except that she had a chauffeur and hadn't driven under influence.

Her Father put his weight in the balance so she just had to pay a fine without going to jail, then he proceeded to ostentially ignore her on the ground that she was a disgrace.

It didn't change Tony's life much.

 

* * *

 

Seven months later, he died in a car crash along with her Mother, nine days short of Christmas.

 

* * *

 

Tony didn't cry, stood motionless in front of the twin grave at the funeral. Obadiah (call me Obie) was behind her, big hand on her shoulder in a gesture that had to show support but in fact weighed her even more.

She had already buried her mom and dad, she honestly didn't think anyone but Jarvis had ever been that for her.

She had been sure she had given up on them, she didn't believe there would be anything they could do or not do for her that would change anything in her heart, yet her she stood, burying the hopes that her biological parents may one day love her, hopes she didn't even think she still had.

She felt empty inside.

No more Jarvis to love her, no more parents to disappoint yet again... Nothing.

 

* * *

 

She left Obadiah, what the hell, Obie, if he wanted to be called that, to steer SI, she didn't want anything to do with her Dad's One True Love.

She went back to the manor, realized that it wasn't Home, it hadn't been from the start, but 'Home is a person'... She understood that it had been her parents who had made this place remotely livable, even though they didn't love her and she didn't love them, she had felt just a bit comfortable in this place that had memories from when Jarvis had been just a friend, and of the very few times her Father had looked at her with a smile.

Now, the mansion felt as empty as Jarvis' apartment. Empty and haunted.

She didn't want to stay there anymore than she'd wanted to stay in Cambridge at Jarvis' death.

 

* * *

 

She left the east coast. Crashed in one of her family’s properties in LA, and started to dream up a place she could call hers.

When she wasn't planning for her house and catching up on architecture, she reviewed her first 'bot, that she'd since dubbed Dummy because of the huge cluster of bugs he had. She was fixing those, but couldn't bear to dismantle or fix him. It was almost a real person, and she'd created him after Jarvis death. Maybe he'd help Tony get a 'home'. She was working on a second prototype, because Dummy really was no help at all and she didn't want people when she worked. And programming and robotics made her happy, she was still holding on on Isabel's word.

 

* * *

 

She celebrated her nineteen years in another huge party. She knew full well, by then that she'd never have a full chest and that she'd stay rather short and thick, but she'd decided that she would totally own it. As Elise had put it, she would 'rock the not pretty look'.

She knew how to look stunning, she'd learned to amplify her curves, to flaunt her leg to torso ratio, she knew how to make up so everyone got lost in her eyes, flaunt what she had and make everyone forget what she didn't have. Her short hairstyle was rapidly becoming a trend.

She milled around, flirting shamelessly, laughing and groping asses. She went to bed with three beautiful women, two blonds and one brown haired.

 

* * *

 

She finished her plans and had construction crews make her villa in Malibu. She liked the sun, and she wanted to surf, she'd heard it was like flying.

 

* * *

 

Her life was gearing up to become a succession of wild parties, of alcohol and drugs, and tunnels of engineering. She didn't answer to the phone, mostly ignored Obadiah.

She was still working on the AI concepts. Obadiah said it wasn't commercially viable, he didn't like it when she blew him off with a “it's not for sale”. She left him know in no uncertain terms that she wouldn't become SI's slave like her Father had. He had left with a frown and warnings on how she wouldn't have this lifestyle if not for her Dad's 'slavery' and SI, and she wouldn't have it for long if she continued to be so laid back about everything.

She had wanted to throw something at his head.

 

* * *

 

She was wondering where to hold her twentieth birthday party when a news caught her eye.

The Stone spouses had died in their plane's crash, leaving Viastone to their twenty years old son.

 

Ty.

 

* * *

 


	6. To The Bitter End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this Story has an E ratting, already... May as well make use of it... Beware for the shameless porn (but with a plot value!)

Before she'd even fully processed the information, she was hacking the Viastone management network, searching for Ty's current address. Thankfully, they were pretty modern in their management, and she found the note telling the employees where to find him in case of emergencies in the inheritance process.

She had Happy drive her all the way to east coast.

 

* * *

 

She found herself at Ty's door, well into the night, two days after his parents death, holding three gallons of ice-cream and a pack of cookies she'd bought in the corner store. She had dismissed Happy, he was probably at a hotel, sleeping.

She knew what she was about to do was stupid, but she wasn't famous for her wisdom. She picked his lock, overrode his security and let herself in his apartment.

It was pretty neat. Functional.

There was no staff. Guess he was like her.

 

* * *

 

She stashed the ice-cream in his freezer and explored the place.

Ty was sleeping on the sofa, his eyes swollen and huddled tight to keep his heat.

She found something to cover him with, and sat with his head on her lap, gently threading a hand in his hair. He didn't stir, melted into her instead.

 

It was the first time she found herself so close to him.

She remembered how she had wanted to sleep with him, she had good taste, after all, he was handsome, even in this state.

An he was so much like her.

 

* * *

 

She started to doze, wondering how he'd react to her sudden presence.

 

* * *

 

Movement started to wake her, then the lack of a familiar heat and weigh on her lap.

“Tony?... I... I'm dreaming, right?” She opened her eyes to Ty on all four on her left, looking surprised and... Hopeful?

“Nope.” She rubbed her eyes. “I saw the news.”

He frowned. “You... It really doesn't explain anything.”

She smiled a bit sadly. “When Jarvis died, I had his sister to help me stand back up. I don't know who you have, and in any case, I've known you since I was eight, so I think it's my responsibility to make sure you're still alive so we can continue being jerks to one-another.”

Ty looked at her, dazed, slumping back in the sofa. “Really? I didn't know you cared. You abandoned me.”

Tony stood up, got a pint of ice cream out, started coffee and emptied the pack of cookies in a plate. “I couldn't stand Cambridge anymore. Too many good memories of things I couldn't have anymore. And I was too absorbed in my pain to think about others.”

Ty huffed. “How did you cope?”

“For Jarvis? Ate tons of ice-cream and cookies, cried my eyes out for a month, put his affairs in order, moved out, and drowned myself in work. For my parents? Dumped all the responsibilities on Obadiah, moved out, drowned myself in work, and did everything I knew they disproved.”

She opened the pint, stuck a spoon in it, and handed it to Ty, then she took a couple of mug out and poured them some coffee.

Ty accepted the treats. “Did it help?”

Tony sat by his side, hand on his back. “Crying, definitely; eating, a bit; tying up the lose ends, a lot; moving out made living possible; drowning myself in work dulled the pain, filled the voids; doing everything they disapprove, not at all, but I can't seem to stop anyway.”

Ty listed to the side, his head coming to rest against her shoulder. “And sleeping around?”

“Not great on the moment, worse after. I left that for after I was a bit better.”

He hummed a bit. “So you're not going to sleep with me to help me, huh?”

She snorted, couldn't help it. “No. Not yet, anyway.” She pushed the plate of cookies to him. “But I am willing to feed you and listen to you complain about them, and tell me stories of them, and sing lullabies while you're crying. Deal?”

He took a cookie. “They're not even home made. Your offer is pretty lousy.”

She smiled. Her eyes were stinging a bit. “I really can't cook, or bake, or anything that relates to food aside from eating it. I can't really sing lullabies either, if you wondered...”

“Useless.” Was the mumbled answer. But he curled up a little more into her. “I miss them.”

 

* * *

 

She did just what she had promised. Pushed food to him and hugged him while he sobbed, sang, completely off key, shared her own stories of her parents or Jarvis when he was apathetic, bought things to eat, made sure he had tissues...

 

* * *

 

There was an entertaining moment when someone came with paperwork for Ty and found her manning the kitchen (read, microwaving takeout).

Ty was mostly clothed, and the red eyes were the sole hints of his distress. “Ah... What is it for?”

The guy eyed Tony pointedly. “It's private matters, miss?”

Tony snorted, she couldn't help it. “Stark.” She kissed Ty on the cheek, just to satisfy her inner showman. “I'll go buy some things while you vanquish the awful paperwork, Ty, see you in a couple of hours?”

Ty blinked a bit, then sighed. “Stay, I'm not in the mood to translate legalities to standard human on my own.”

She was a bit surprised. Their fathers had been rivals, quite like they themselves had been, and she hadn't thought he'd let her see sensible informations. She sat anyway. She wasn't working at SI, and didn't intend to be an ass to Ty just because her dad hadn't liked his.

Besides, the employee's face was priceless.  
He spluttered her name, then a protest, but Ty just stared at him until he shut up. She kind of regretted saying she wouldn't sleep with him until he was better.

 

* * *

 

She waited for him in the car while he attended the burial, and let him cry in her lap, hands in his hair, while Happy drove them back to Ty's apartment.

 

* * *

 

A week later, Ty finally caught on on the fact that Tony shouldn't have been able to get in at all. She showed him how she'd foiled his security and he grumbled for hours on the uselessness of a security system someone could get through just like that.

She felt a bit insulted that he compared her competence levels to “just like that”, but decided it meant Ty was getting better.

 

* * *

 

A month in, Ty was getting his feet back under him, and declared it was time he started the drown in work part. Viastone had fared pretty badly under it's quarrel with Stark Industries, hadn't gotten a lot better since Howard's death, and had seriously weakened with it's boss' death.

Tony listened to him when he announced all that, smiled, kissed him for real, and went back to Malibu, putting on a rendez-vous for the Belmaison graduate party in August.

 

* * *

 

Belmaison being a rich, intelligent kid's school, The graduate party was more of a networking event that a real party, and Tony hadn't bothered to go there since she graduated, but it gave her a good reason to meet-up with Ty.

And it had been where she'd danced with him, a repeat there seemed pretty meaningful.

 

* * *

 

She didn't hold a party for her twentieth birthday.

 

* * *

 

She had a weekly dance practice meeting with Ty. If she was going to dance with him in public, she'd be awesome about it.

 

* * *

 

Two weeks before the party, Ty showed up at the practice two hours late. He announced her he would be going in Europe shortly. A lucrative contract that could help him right his company had popped up, and he wouldn't come at the party with her.

She felt surprise and betrayal slam in her like a body blow.

She had done that before, left him behind. Repeatedly.

She didn't let herself show how much that rattled her, she wouldn't lose that way.

She understood what he meant, his company was still balancing on the edge of bankruptcy, he had better things to do than just go along with her plans.

She just asked when he would leave.

“The day after tomorrow.”

 

She looked up at her from under her lashes. She had polished her technique for ages. She had thought that with Ty it would be more than one-liners and a meaningless night. She had thought they would dance, kiss before a full room, and go somewhere quiet together.

She hadn't thought all this build up would end up with her batting her lashes and saying one easy line in her bedroom voice. “You still owe me a dance. Will you pay up now?”

And that was it. As easy as that, Ty answered with his own predictable line, and they were wrestling each-others clothes off, pushing and pulling until Tony found herself held up against a wall, Ty naked between her legs, and kissing like their life depended on it.

Ty got a condom out of his jean's pocket. She felt anger well up in her chest. He had foreseen this, he had everything set up into a trap for her, after she'd freely offered her friendship.

 

* * *

 

She lashed out, taking without a care for him, biting and scratching and clawing, keeping him trapped right there between her tights. 

He folded easily, complying to her demands, easing into the abuse, he kept kissing her gently even after she'd bit his mouth raw.

 

She growled, pushed him back, tackled him to the ground, snatched the condom packet from his hand, ripped it open. Ty just watched as she rolled it on his erection, intent eyes never leaving hers.

He smiled when she straddled him, hands planted on his chest firmly enough to hurt.

There was just fire in his eyes when she set up a brutal rhythm, and she used every single trick she knew, wanting to see him fall apart, to have him finally loose this game, surrender to her.

 

He was panting, he whined softly when she just abruptly stopped moving to bite his lips, opened up, welcoming her teeth with soft moisture. She moved again, sudden, brutal, in a way she knew she'd be feeling sore with for a few days. She jumped a bit when his hands ended up on her ass, growled at him, and he just smiled, eyes fierce, right in hers, and added his arm's strength to her thrusts.

She came, spasming around him, gasping sharply for breath, crying out when he just slammed her right down again, and again...

It was the best sex she'd ever had, hand down, fueled by years of sexual tension and animosity, by resentments she'd thought forgotten by now. It was amazing on his own right, the way she arched her back but didn't let her head come up, the way her orgasm just seemed to last forever, but she kept her eyes on Ty's face, to see, to be sure, that he was just as lost to the world as her, that she was making him lose his head, that she wasn't loosing.

She had this rush of savage joy, seeing him gasp, eyes wide, his hands tightening on her hips hard enough to leave bruises, pressing her down on him. She took in every details of his face, the way his limbs just relaxed, the pink on his cheeks and the blood on his lips. She listened to his breath, felt his chest heave under her hands, the slick slip of his spent dick as it slipped out of her when she bent down for a last kiss.

It was softer, slow and sloppy, noisy from wet the clicks, with way more tongue that lips, it lasted for a whole minute before she pulled back to his slightly glazed eyes, still fixed on her intently, his cocky smile on his lips.

She stood up, still buzzing with energy.

She glanced at the mess of discarded clothes. Most of them were torn to some extent.

She pulled her dance dress from her practice bag. It was the real deal, beautifully tailored to fit her on the best way, soft fabric and daring drapes that would have showed her legs up in the whirls. She had wanted to show it to him, to give him on more thing to look forward to when he saw it today.

Now, it was no more than another priceless clothing. She slipped it on, despite the wet spot she would no doubt leave on it's backside.

She turned around when she opened the door, gazing coolly at Ty, where he lay on his side, bracketed on his forearms, still eying her up. “I won't wait for you.”

She called for Happy to pick her up.

 

* * *

 

When she got back to her house, she called Obie, told him she'd take her company back, asked to start touring the facilities immediately, so she could take control of SI on her twenty-first birthday, making it seem to the public like a deliberate move, waiting for majority before taking the reigns.

 

Ty would die before catching up to her. He seemed to enjoy watching her ass, anyway.

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! Finished.
> 
> So as you may have noticed, I just brushed up the historic in the "apogee award" chapter of Iron Man one.
> 
> Stay tunned for my next story!


End file.
